Quite often the better half and I joke about how it looks like a Thunderhawk Gunship was towed and put through a cube crusher before a Techpriest took pity on it. This really put me off until I found out about the conversion kit done by Chapterhouse Studios, whilst I don’t endorse how much Chapterhouse infringes on GW’s rights or feel the need to tell you buy their products, I am impressed by their conversion kit which lengthens out the hull of the Stormraven to make it look like it can carry what the fluff tells you it can.

Anyway, I digress – I decided to follow as much of GW’s paint guide as possible.

So I started with an undercoat of skull white on the exterior surfaces and skull black on the metallics and interiors. After that dried, I pulled out the handy airbrush and applies a base coat of Mechrite Red to all of the exterior surfaces and the crew. Interior surfaces, engines and landing gear all got a 50:50 mix of Chaos Black and Boltgun Silver applied.

Blood Angel Vehicles

So I recently discovered how to pull this effect off when I flicked through a copy of the Games Workshop’s ‘How to Paint Citadel Tanks’. In the book they show some pics of Nid Bio-Acid damage done to some Imperial tanks and described the process.

Drop Pod Bio-acid damage exterior

I decided to apply this to the Death Company Drop Pod I’m working on. I placed the acid damage high up on the pod petal purely for aesthetic reasons (alternatively you can picture a Gargoyle high up, getting a passing shot at the pod as it hurtles past!). I also decided to have the acid eat through to the interior a bit….

Drop Pod Bio-acid damage interior

The method for it is pretty easy, I drilled some holes into the area I wanted affected by the acid, gave it a brush with a 50:50 mix of chaos black and boltgun silver then used warlock purple over the area that the acid hit. When that dried I highlighted some of the holes with tentacle pink. Finally I coated the area (well, splattered) with water effects paste. After 24 hours that was the effect.

Seize Ground (3 Objectives), Spearhead Deployment. Object 1 in centre, Objective 2 in North West Quadrant, Objective 3 in South East Quadrant

IG setup first in North East Quadrant.

Blood Angels Setup in South West Quadrant.

(Harker’s Veteran Squad deploy in North West Quadrant near Objective)

(Baal predators scout move to within 12” of enemy lines and deployed smoke, Scouts deploy close to objective in bunker)

Turn 1 Guard

Across the ruined landscape, the Imperial Guard took stock of the incoming Blood Angel spearhead. As the Baal predators roared into flanking positions in front of the ruins and the woodland, motion detectors picked up signs of a scout unit closing in on a defensive position in the South East quadrant of the battle zone. Knowing they could not afford to lose such an affordable position, the Guard Colonel ordered the Lieutenant to take an armoured sentinel squadron and the spare chimera to go cleanse the area and hold the bunker. Turning his sights back towards the approaching and smoke screened armour, the Colonel ordered his second veteran squad to approach in their Chimera and turn the Flamestorm Baal to slag before it could harm his men. The hidden veteran squad moved forward on the North Western flank to take up and advantageous firing position and rained plasma fire down on the Death Company dreadnought, but failed to damage it’s armour. Meanwhile, the heavy guns of the infantry squads, the plasma cannons of the sentinels and the Battlecannon on the Leman Russ opened fire. In the ensuing barrage, both the crews of Baals were shaken, the Flamestorm Baal’s crew was also stunned. Shells rained off the hull of the Land Raider but none made it through. An ordinance barrage struck the Scout Squad, forcing them to go to ground but still managed to end 3 of them.

Turn 1 Marine

Seeing the devastating fire from the guard’s armoured sentinels and knowing the Scout squad was doomed, Tycho ordered his Land Raider to advance and bring down the closest Armoured Sentinel squadron. As the first squadron fell to the fury of the lascannon fire, the Death Company made their move and jumped out of cover towards the Southern ridgeline, eading towards the second Armoured Sentinel squadron. The Death company dreadnought advanced on the flanking veteran squad and hosed them with fire from its stormbolter and magnagrapples. Frag missiles and plasma cannon fire added to their woes from the 5 man tactical squad and the other dreadnought. Their cover proved insurmountable though and they only lost 3 men.

Turn 2 Guard

As the smoke screens cleared from the two Baal predators, it became obvious that the meltagunners had done more damage than they thought, a second round of firing from them and the vehicle exploded, the promethium in its tanks igniting in the volcanic heat. Shots from autocannons pounded into the second Baal, but it was the ethereal strike from the Psyker Battle Squad which managed to land a blow damaging it’s drive sections and forcing it to remain where it was by the Southern ridge line. The remaining Armoured Sentinel squadron, sensing the incoming Death Company opened fire but mistimed their shots, missing the Death Company in their advance. Heavy Bolter fire from a chimera and one off the infantry squads joined their righteous fury but the shots all but bounced off or were ignored by the marines in their advance. The Scout squad picked themselves up from the barrage, the noise of explosions ringing in their ears, just to be set alight by the flanking Chimera’s cargo. The infiltrating veteran squad, having been discovered opened fire at the approaching Death Company dreadnought, but once again, failed to slow it down.

Turn 2 Marine

With artillery rounds hammering the ground around it, the immobilised Baal predator hosed fire into the nearby forest, killing 3 of the infantry squad hiding within and forcing the remainder into a rout. The death company leapt skywards, landing in close combat with the remaining sentinel squadron, felling one of them but failed to find purchase with the second, however, before it fell, the two sentinels managed to end one of the company. Meanwhile, the Death company dreadnought slammed into Sgt Harker’s veteran squad, all bar the sergeant were torn limb from limb within seconds. Seeing his men rent asunder, the sergeant fled, but was cut down before he got a step. The dreadnought finally turned and advanced towards the veteran squad contained in their Chimera in the Northern centre of the field.

The Land Raider unleashed a volley of Lascannon shots towards the Leman Russ, but failed to penetrate the armour, whilst it’s machine spirit hosed a nearby infantry squad with its heavy bolters, claiming another life.

Turn 3 Guard

Seeing the dreadnought leaving the site of devastation, Guardsman Marbo, threw off his camouflage, pulled out a demo pack, took aim at the dreadnought, took a step to gain momentum, slipped on Harker’s remains and fell on the demo pack. When the smoke cleared, there was no sign of Marbo’s corpse, the dreadnought, did not even break it’s stride as debris rained down on it.

The Lieutenant and his flamer squad dove into the South Eastern bunker and claimed the objective for the Guard. Whilst the fleeing guard squad rallied.

The Psyker battlesquad, seeing the approaching dreadnought, tried to turn the fel arts on it, but the warp would not bend to their will. Artillery fire and rounds from the Leman Russ continued to rain down on Blood Angel vehicles and positions, but none of them managed to inflict any damage.

Landing hammer blows from their autocannons and heavy bolters, the guard managed to silence the assault cannons on the Baal predator.

Locked in combat with the Death company, the sentinel managed to shake off stunning blows and hold it’s on against the squad.

Turn 3 Marine

With the Death Company locked in combat, a Baal predator immobilised and two unclaimed objectives. The marines appeared to pause to consider their tactics. Unburdened of such matters though, the Death company dreadnought charged across open ground and powered into the side of the veteran’s Chimera, stunning it’s crew and passengers.

Seconds passed, and then with a roar, a plasma cannon shot and two missiles impacted again on the guard’s lines, claiming the life of the Master of the Ordinance from his vantage point, but ultimately inflicted minimal casualties as remaining the men took cover.

The Death company tried to attach krak grenades and land killing blows with their power fist on the remaining Sentinel but could find no purchase beyond shaking it’s crew member.

Turn 4 Guard

Seeing his lines under heavy fire and seeing the closing death company dreadnought, the Colonel decided he needed to silence the long range guns of the marines in the South Western fortifications. Radioing the coordinates, the area was soon under fire from the Storm Troopers, claiming the lives of two marines and silencing the squad’s missile launcher.

Supporting the infantry squads, the Leman Russ managed to land an ordinance round on the Land Raider, crippling it’s heavy bolters, whilst autocannon and heavy bolter rounds bounced off the immobilised Baal predator.

The remaining Sentinel managed to maintain the stalemate with the Death company, demonstrating heroic resolve but at the cost of its plasma cannon.

Unfortunately the Death Company dreadnought succeeded in tearing through the fuel tanks of the Chimera, causing an almighty explosion, claiming the lives of 5 veteran guardsmen and pinning the rest of the squad in the wreckage.

Ripples in the warp once again prevented the Psyker battlesquad from unleashing their deadly magiks.

Turn 4 Marine

The remaining marines in the fortification, backed up by their dreadnought opened fire, in seconds, four of the six storm troopers lay face down in the dirt, never to move again. The remaining two men broke and fled the field.

The Land Raider opened fire on the Leman Russ landing a direct hit, which looked like it might have caused some serious damage, but when the smoke cleared, it became obvious that it was merely a grazing shot.

Uninhibited by the bulk of the Chimera, the Death Company dreadnought proceeded to slaughter the guardsmen trapped in the wreckage.

In the midst of the slaughter and the carnage, the lone sentinel tried desperately to hold off it’s attackers, but a lucky blow from the power fist crippled it’s legs and rendered it immobile.

Turn 5 Guard

Seeing the storm troopers in full retreat and knowing the dreadnought would soon bear down upon him and his men, the Colonel ordered the Psyker battlesquad to fire at the Death Company dreadnought. The resulting blast wave tore a blood talon off the dreadnought but also killed a member of the command squad.

Seeing their quarry immobilised, the Death Company finally managed to finish off their prey and turned their eyes hungrily towards the South Eastern bunker and the squad it contained.

Heavy bolter and autocannon rounds continued to dent and scuff the armour of the stricken Baal predator but failed to dislodge it’s crew.

Turn 5 Marine

Sensing victory, Tycho ordered his men out of the Land Raider and moved to claim the middle objective. Once unloaded, the Land Raider proceeded to crush the wrecks of the two sentinels the guard had been using for cover, underneath it’s tracks whilst it’s lascannons shook the crew of the Leman Russ.

Heavy bolter fire from the Baal predator churned up dirt around the guard infantry squads while the long range dreadnought burned holes in the landscape.

Relieved of their missile launcher, the remaining 3 men of the tactical squad set out to claim the North Eastern objective.

The Death Company dreadnought fired on the command squad with its stormbolter and magnagrapple, felling another 2 of the squad before charging the colonel and remaining guardsman. The Psyker battlesquad could only watch in horror as the wounded dreadnought unleashed it’s fury, rending the squad limb from limb.

Meanwhile the Death company stormed the South Eastern bunker; from outside the bunker, the crew of the two remaining Chimera’s could only watch as ichor splattered out of the bunker weapon slits and the screams of dying lieutenant and his squad were echoed over the vox system.

Epilogue

With their commanders and veterans dead or fleeing, and the loss of the only objective the guard had held, the remaining men fled the field. Whilst victory was narrowly awarded to the Blood Angels, it was costly. One Baal predator was completely destroyed, a second would require extensive repairs. The Death Company had only lost a single man and would need to be tended to by Astorath before long, while the Death Company dreadnought had been damaged but not enough to be subdued. The Land Raider had suffered the loss of its heavy bolters and would also require re-fitting. Most telling of all, though was the complete loss of a scout squad and two marines from the tactical squad.